Letters to the Editor, Oct. 11

There are major issues in the world that the President of the United States should attend to, yet our president wastes time tweeting and pontificating about personal activities of citizens that in no way rise to national, or even state, level like the actions of Harvey Weinstein or the case of Vice President Mike Pence walking out of a football game to protest kneeling players. Worse, he reportedly spent hundreds of thousands of taxpayer’s dollars to stage that tweet opportunity for himself. These are matters for local authorities and citizens to address. We do not need personal input and micro-management from the president on every personal action in the land; talk about intrusion of “Big Brother.”

The president spends valuable time being petty and entirely off-message, and these occasions are not one-off; they represent the substance and mind-set of what Donald Trump brings to the Office of the President. His focus is tabloid and juvenile in the extreme, and citizens, both liberal and conservative, are recognizing that. Our country and the world are in serious danger because of it.

He also criticized former President Barack Obama’s administration for seeking to protect women from domestic violence while also allowing them to engage in military combat, as if the two issues had any connection to each other. Carlson hasn’t changed his demeanor since he became a prime time Fox News host.

Ferdy Bagdalian, Daly City

Step aside, Feinstein

Concerning “Not all pleased Feinstein will run” (Oct. 10): Count me as someone who is definitely not happy with Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s decision to seek re-election to the Senate. After 25 years in Washington, D.C., Feinstein is an entrenched political insider who has become increasingly out of touch with the interests of California’s voters. Our state overwhelmingly rejected Trump’s racist and misogynistic candidacy, yet Feinstein falsely believes that he can “become a good president.” We need someone who will consistently stand up to this divisive man and lead a resistance to his anti-democratic values. With polls showing California Democrats — especially Millennials — offering Feinstein lukewarm support, she ought to have stepped aside to allow a new generation of leadership to represent the Golden State.

Michelle Wang, Mountain View

Civics lesson needed

I wonder what would happen to well-known athletes who protested during the national anthem in countries like North Korea, China or Russia? We all know the answer: banishment, prison or even death!

President Trump could use a civics lesson on what really makes America great. It’s not the favoritism in bankruptcy laws and inheritance taxes or unbridled capitalistic greed that he knows about and takes advantage of. It is our right to peacefully protest our government policies without fear of retribution or retaliation.

Tom Rudolph, Brisbane

Catered to base

Regarding “Clock rolls back” (Editorial, Oct. 10): Not only is President Trump’s administration rolling back women’s reproductive rights by allowing employers to refuse birth control coverage in health insurance plans due to religious beliefs, but it is also enabling businesses to discriminate against the LGBTQ community for the very same reasons. At his inauguration, Trump promised to be president of all Americans.

In truth, he is only interested in catering to the demands of the evangelicals who supported and helped to elect him.

Vivian Wexford, San Francisco

Wear white at night

The loss of daylight savings time means an extra hour of darkness in which pedestrians blithely walk across the path of oncoming cars wearing all-black or dark blue clothing. I offer a simple way to address the lack of visibility for pedestrians and bicyclists after dark: wear an item of clothing in either white or with a reflective patch. Please give yourself and the driver a chance to see you before you cross paths.

Stephanie Lyons, San Francisco

Fire-fighting aircraft

Interesting that there is never talk of buying a fleet of fire-fighting aircraft. China, Russia and Canada produce them, instead of investing in trains to nowhere for $65 billion. How many houses does that save?